Flaws
by TrailingJasmine
Summary: Teddy Lupin seeks answers about his parents from his godfather.
1. Dinner at the Potters

**Flaws (Part I)**

**Fandom: **Harry Potter  
**Disclaimer: **All characters belong to JKR. I just make the situations.  
**Characters: **Teddy Lupin  
**Rating:** PG  
**Summary: **Teddy Lupin seeks answers about his parents from his godfather.

**Author's Note:** Oh no she didn't! Despite my initial feelings about Teddy Lupin fic I caved in and decided to write some - but it's more using teddy as a tool with which to explore other relationships in the potter-verse. **Flaws** may well continue after this, as I now have a hankering to write Teddy/Victoire, and other bits and pieces. I hope you enjoy!

* * *

Teddy Lupin cannot remember a time when his grandmother had seemed anything other than old and weary. Her tired, careworn manner fits so well with the grey streaks in her hair that he finds it difficult to imagine that Granny Andromeda has ever been different. She is never depressed; no, his grandmother is always positive, and sometimes even cheerful. But he can tell that the years lie heavy on her memory. 

One day, when he was eight, just after they moved to London, he realised that asking about his parents and his grandfather caused Granny Andromeda pain, caused her to frown and screw her eyes up hard. He stopped asking, then.

---

"What were my parents like?" It feels like he's never asked that question before. And yet he knows he's said those five words maybe a hundred times whilst sat at the dining table in the Potters' house. His godfather looks at him, smiles understandingly. Ginny gets up from the table, and says, "I'll just go and check on the children." She takes the empty glass dish which had held apple crumble with her, skirting round the Christmas tree

There is a pause as Harry pours himself another glass of wine. He looks over at Teddy, questioningly, who shakes his head. He's already had two glasses, and he's not sure his grandmother would approve of more than that. "Your father," Harry says, "was the best teacher I ever had at school. But he was also a friend, someone I could talk to. He taught me how to cast a Patronus charm years before I should have been capable of it."

Teddy drinks it all in, even though he's heard it dozens of times before. And then his godfather says something new. Harry hesitates for a moment before saying it. "You're sixteen now," he says, "which I think is old enough."

"Old enough for what?" Teddy asks, curious.

"Old enough to know… certain facts, and being able to appreciate them properly." Teddy is still confused, but his godfather continues. "You are old enough to understand that there is no such thing as a perfect human being. We all make mistakes, we all have weaknesses, but those weaknesses do not necessarily make us bad people."

Teddy nods. "Your father, for a while, felt weak," Harry says. "He married your mother, but believed that he wasn't… enough for her. He thought that because he was a werewolf, with all the problems that brings, he should not have married her. He came here" - Harry gestures to the old house they are sitting in – "and told me that was how he felt."

To Teddy, it feels… odd, for want of a better word, to hear this. He has never considered that his parents might have been flawed beings. He doesn't like the idea much. His godfather is still speaking. "I argued with him. I said terrible things, called him a coward. When he left, I wondered if we'd ever be friends again."

"My dad didn't love her?" Teddy says, amazed, and Harry immediately shakes his head.

"No," he says firmly. "Your father loved your mother very, very much. He went back to her, and the day you were born was the happiest I've ever seen your father. He loved you dearly, too." Harry pauses again. "His weakness came from love, you see. He loved Tonks – your mother – so much, and that was what led him to doubt himself."

Silence falls across the dining room at Grimmauld Place. "It's a funny thing, love," Harry says. "You don't always see it immediately. When you do, it's the most terrifying thing in the world." Teddy says nothing; far too many thoughts are chasing round in his head. "In the same way as your father, I pushed people I loved away from me because I felt that they were in too much danger near me."

"He did, you know," Ginny laughs from the door. "Took me ages to pin him down." She comes and sits down at the table, next to Harry. "Don't let me forget, I made a cake for you and your grandmother," she says.

"Yeah, I should probably get going," Teddy says. "Gran doesn't like me going on the Tube late at night. She says I'll get mugged."

"She's quite right," Ginny teases. "I don't know why you don't just Floo." Teddy laughs, because he knows that both Ginny and Harry know why he takes the Tube everywhere in London.

---

It's only when he's standing on the platform, waiting for the train which will take him back to his grandmother's house in West London that all the knowledge he has recently acquired starts to make sense. The initial shock is slowly wearing off, and as it does, Teddy suddenly understands what his godfather had said at the very beginning of the conversation about being old enough to appreciate things. If he had been told about his father wanting to leave his mother when he was younger, he would have refused to believe it, or lost his temper. _Perhaps this is part of growing up_, he thinks. _Realising that people you love have flaws, sometimes deep flaws_.

---

When he gets home, his grandmother is still up, watching the end of the evening news. Teddy never appreciated until he went to Hogwarts just how much of a blend of Muggle and wizarding life his childhood had been. All the things his grandfather Ted had brought into Andromeda's life become sacred, like going on the Underground. Teddy had grown up with the BBC as much as he had with any of the wizard broadcasting services.

Television was something he missed at Hogwarts; television, and Radio 4. His childhood had been regulated by it: the start of the five o'clock news meant it was time for tea, and the Archers theme music at five past seven meant that it was time for bed. Watching the ten o'clock news with his grandmother had become a ritual whenever he was at home during the holidays, and now he sank down in one of the armchairs.

"Did you have a nice dinner?" His grandmother is in a good mood; he can tell, because she isn't embroidering.

"Very. There's a cake in the kitchen from Ginny; it's a ginger loaf, I think."

"She makes excellent cakes," Andromeda says fondly. "Never dry, and always plenty of fruit." Teddy half-listens to the weatherman talking about the chance of snow on Christmas Day, two days away. Tomorrow night, Christmas Eve, will be spent with his grandfather's family in the East End. Christmas Day itself would see just himself and his grandmother alone together. Every year, the Potters had issued an invitation for Christmas lunch, but Andromeda always declined. "I couldn't bear to go back to that house," she said every year, and this year has been no different.

It is then that Teddy realises that flaws are all well and good, until they prevent you living a full life. His grandmother's refusal to go to Grimmauld Place meant that Christmas was always celebrated alone, just the two of them there in the house, sharing a small turkey. As he lies in bed, Teddy silently resolves to never let his self-doubts come between himself and living.


	2. Kings' Cross

Ten days later, with half a Christmas cake and a tin containing a dozen home made mince pies in his bag, Teddy is sitting in the back of a black cab with his grandmother

Ten days later, with half a Christmas cake and a tin containing a dozen home made mince pies in his bag, Teddy is sitting in the back of a black cab with his grandmother. The taxi is firmly stuck in traffic near Paddington station, and Teddy can tell from the set of his grandmother's lips that she's contemplating what they've only done once before: a side-along apparition from a nearby back street straight to Platform 9¾.

It's not that they're late; no, it's only half past nine, so they'll certainly make the train, which leaves at eleven. But Andromeda has always preferred to drop her grandson off early, giving him plenty of money to buy himself a magazine, a hot drink and something to eat. He's done this since he was eleven years old, and it never seemed strange to him until September.

He had been dropped off at ten o'clock as always, and had sat in one of the cafés across the street from Kings Cross, drinking tea and picking at a Danish pastry. He had been flicking through a newspaper when he saw the Potters – all five of them – walking into the station.

When he caught up with them at Platform 9¾ he saw that James was proudly pushing a trolley with a new trunk precariously balanced on it, and remembered that he was starting at Hogwarts that year.

"Teddy!" Ginny had exclaimed at the sight of him as he hung back, shy and awkward, not wanting to interrupt their family scene. "Harry, it's Teddy."

"Hello," Teddy had smiled weakly. "Is James starting today, then?"

"Yes," Harry smiled, and Teddy could see the pride in his eyes. Then he looked around, as if searching for someone. "Is your grandmother around?"

"Oh, no. She dropped me off an hour ago." He can see the confusion on Harry and Ginny's faces. "She doesn't like… she doesn't like seeing other people. She worries about who she might meet." He can't help but catch the glance Harry and Ginny give each other, and suddenly wonders how normal it is.

In the end, the taxi slips through the traffic, and his grandmother has escaped Kings Cross before quarter past ten. Teddy meanders aimlessly through the station concourse, and gets himself a cappuccino and a magazine before making his way to Platform 9¾. He doesn't particularly enjoy cappuccinos, or indeed any type of coffee, but the idea of it seems somehow grown up. He's sixteen, and he feels he should start appreciating things like coffee and firewhiskey.

He shakes his hair from brown to turquoise as he steps through the barrier at Kings Cross. His natural hair colour had never failed to attract attention from Muggles, and only once he was safely ensconced in the wizarding world did he let it show.

The platform, as he expected, is deserted. The train has yet to arrive. Teddy slides his trunk from the trolley, and sits down on it, settling himself in for the wait. He sips tentatively at the cappuccino. It's not as bad as he thought it would be, so he takes another sip, before turning to the magazine. It's a Muggle music magazine; as he flicks through the pages, Teddy wonders idly if he can persuade his grandmother to let him have an electric guitar.

He's still reading ten minutes later when the next Hogwarts students appear through the barrier. He looks up, and does a double-take. Walking towards him are Ginny's nieces, Victoire and Dominique, pushing trolleys piled high with bags. Teddy can't help but notice how long, how thick Victoire's hair is. It cascades down her shoulders and her back, a cataract of dark red curls stark against her dark grey coat. Why hasn't he noticed it before now?

"Teddy!" Victoire exclaims, and he surfaces. "How are you? Did you have a good holiday?" Her voice, that faint trace of _français _lingering on every inflection, caresses his mind.

"Yes," he finally says. There is a flush rising to his cheeks. "Did you?"

"Of course," Victoire smiles.

"We went to visit Grandpére and Grandmére in Paris," Dominique pipes up, but Teddy hardly hears her, so fixed are his eyes on Victoire's face. He remembers the invitation which had been issued by Victoire's parents, for him to join them and the rest of the extended Weasley clan for a drinks party at Shell Cottage on New Year's Day. He'd said no, and now he wonders why.

"What's that you're reading?" Victoire asks, pointing to the magazine.

"Oh, nothing. Well, it's the _NME_," Teddy says, and she arches a delicate eyebrow.

"The _NME_?"

"A Muggle music magazine; but tt's not very interesting if you don't listen to the Muggle wireless."

"Hello, Teddy," another voice says, and he looks round to see Mr Weasley smiling at him. Even though he's never known him without them, Teddy doesn't think he'll ever get used to the scars on Bill Weasley's face, the scars which mark him as having fought in the Second War. His wife, Victoire's mother, is nearby, fussing over Dominique's hair. "Did you have a good holiday?"

"Yes, thank you. I'm sorry I couldn't make it to your drinks party."

"Never mind. There's always next year," Bill says jovially. "How are your studies going?"

"Well, thank you."

"And I hear you're playing Quidditch for Gryffindor now. Victoire tells me you're quite the Chaser!" Teddy is definitely blushing now.

"She's… she's too kind."

It is all too soon when the train arrives, and Teddy climbs slowly up into the front carriage. He always sits there, saving a compartment for his friends who will come and join him later. He puts his luggage away, and returns to his copy of the _NME_, but before five minutes have passed, there is a soft knock at the door.

"Hello, Teddy."

He can barely believe it. There at the door is Victoire, smiling at him. "Hi," he replies, not entirely sure what to say to this vision.

"Do you mind if I sit here?" Victoire asks, and it's all Teddy can do to stop himself asking if she's being serious.

"Of course not." Teddy puts down his magazine as Victoire slips in and sits down opposite him, crossing her legs neatly and smoothing down her skirt.

"Tell me all about what you did for Christmas," she says quietly. And so Teddy tells her, about how he went to the Potters for dinner and talked about his father, properly, for the first time; and about Christmas Eve in the East End with his father's family, drinking mulled wine and eating mince pies; about Christmas Day, alone with his grandmother, and suddenly time is passing faster and faster, and all he knows is that the girl sitting in front of him is the most beautiful, bewitching creature he's ever laid eyes on.

And Victoire Weasley questions him delicately, gently, and so easily that before he knows it she's getting to her feet; the train is at Hogsmeade station and the time has come to return to the castle perched on the cliff above the lake. As Victoire places her delicate hand in his for him to help her down from the train, he never wants to let it go.


End file.
